Unit 8: Gas Lift

Part 2-
Operation and
Design
Prepared by: Mr
Saddam Al-Sadi
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Gas lift equipment and facilities
›  Mosthigh-pressure gas lift systems are designed to
recirculate the lift gas.

›  Thelow-pressure gas from the production separator is

compressed and re-injected into the well to lift the fluids
from the well. This closed loop, as illustrated in  Fig. 1
next slide  is referred to as a closed rotative gas lift
system.

›  Continuous-flowgas lift operations are preferable with

a closed rotative system.

›  Intermittent
gas lift operations are particularly difficult to
regulate and operate efficiently in small closed systems
having limited gas-storage capacities.Petroleum Production Engineering-2
Mr. Saddam Al-Sadi
 3

Simplified flow diagram of a closed rotative

gas lift system.

Petroleum Production Engineering-2

Mr. Saddam Al-Sadi
 4

Gas distribution and control

›  Thecontrol and distribution of injection gas to a
gas lift well is as important as the control and
distribution of electric power is to a pumping well.

›  The
distribution system must be large enough so
that very little pressure is lost between the
compressor and the wellhead.

›  The
distribution manifold consists of a control
valve,gas meter, and distribution line to each well.

›  Such a system is illustrated in Fig. 2 next slide.

Petroleum Production Engineering-2
Mr. Saddam Al-Sadi
 5

Injection-gas manifold for controlling and

measuring gas to individual wells
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Gas compression and dehydration

›  In the early days of gas lift, most injection gas for
the gas lift wells came from large gas-processing
facilities.
›  This ensured a good constant source of dry gas to
lift the wells.
›  However, as more gas was gathered and
processed, the processing plants became larger
and were located further from the oil-production
facilities.
›  This resulted in the widespread use of field
compressors to compress gas gathered in the field
before it was sent to the processing facilities.
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Gas compression and dehydration

›  The field compressors tended to be smaller, high-speed,
skid mounted, reciprocal units that could be moved
and quickly installed wherever required.

›  The
use of the field compressors made gas lift easily
accessible in any field where sufficient gas was
available from a local source.

›  This
brought about many closed-cycle gas lift systems
where gas was:
1.  separated from the produced crude,
2.  gathered and sent to compressors,
3.  and then after compression,
4.  returned to the wells for reinjection as gas lift gas or sold.
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Gas compression and dehydration

›  B o t h
the centrifugal and reciprocating
compressors are used in production facilities.

›  However, because of their flexibility under

changing conditions and applicability to small
volumes, reciprocating compressors are used far
more often than centrifugal compressors in gas lift
operations.
Petroleum Production Engineering-2
Mr. Saddam Al-Sadi
 9

Gas dehydration
›  Because most injection gas for gas lift is now
compressed in the field, dehydration of the gas
has become an important part of a successful gas
lift operation.

›  Natural
gas may contain substantial amounts of
water vapor because of the presence of connate
water in the reservoir.

›  Water
vapor should be removed from lift gas to
prevent the formation of liquids in the distribution
system. Petroleum Production Engineering-2
Mr. Saddam Al-Sadi
 10

Gas dehydration
›  Gasdehydration removes the source of the problem
and is preferred over methanol injection or line heaters.

›  Dehydration can be accomplished by either

›  absorption
›  or adsorption processes.

›  The absorption process involves the passing of the gas

stream through a liquid desiccant that has a strong
affinity for water.

›  In
the adsorption process, gas flows through a bed of
granular solids called solid desiccants. .
Petroleum Production Engineering-2
Mr. Saddam Al-Sadi
 11

Gas dehydration

›  The
most widely used dehydration system in oilfield
and gas lift operations is the absorption-type
process.

›  The
desiccant used in these systems is usually a
solution of one of the glycols; generally, diethylene
glycol (DEG) or triethylene glycol (TEG) is used.

›  The
method of operation is the same for both
systems Petroleum Production Engineering-2
Mr. Saddam Al-Sadi
 12

Surface production facilities

›  The
location of surface production facilities can
greatly impact the efficiency of a gas lift
operation.

›  Production
stations that provide liquid and gas
separation along with other gathering facilities
should be located as near the wells as practical.

›  Every effort should be made to minimize the length

of multiphase flowlines.
›  In some cases, substations with a minimum of
facilities can be employed to shorten the length of
the multiphase flowlines. Petroleum Production Engineering-2
Mr. Saddam Al-Sadi
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Gas lift system design

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Overview
›  Ideally,
an artificial-lift system should be chosen and
designed during the initial planning phase of an oil
field.

›  However, in the haste to get a field on production,

artificial lift may not be considered until after other
production facilities are designed and installed.

›  Itis difficult to choose and install the optimum artificial-

lift system after the surface production facilities have
been installed.

›  This is especially true in the case of gas lift.

Petroleum Production Engineering-2
Mr. Saddam Al-Sadi
 15

Factors having an effect on the design of a

gas lift system
›  Most production equipment affects the design of a
gas lift system, so it is best to design the gas lift
system concurrently with the design of surface
facilities.

›  The
entire purpose of a gas lift system is to reduce
the bottomhole flowing pressure of the well.

›  Anything
that restricts or prevents this from
occurring will have an impact on the system and
must be considered in the design.Petroleum Production Engineering-2
Mr. Saddam Al-Sadi
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1. Field layout and well design

›  Consideration of gas lift operations should be a
prime factor in sizing the hole for the desired oil
well tubulars.

›  This
is particularly true in offshore wells where all of
the downhole gas lift equipment, except the
valves, is installed during the initial completion.

›  In
on-shore fields, gas lift affects the size and
location of gathering lines and production stations.
Petroleum Production Engineering-2
Mr. Saddam Al-Sadi
 17

1. Field layout and well design

›  Artificial
lift should be considered before a casing
program is designed.

›  Casing programs should allow the maximum

production rate expected from the well without
restrictions.

›  The same is true in flowline size and length.

›  Production
stations should be relatively near the
producing wells. Petroleum Production Engineering-2
Mr. Saddam Al-Sadi
 18

2. Injection-gas pressure
›  Choosing a proper injection-gas pressure is critical
in a gas lift system design. 

›  Several
factors may affect the choice of an
injection-gas pressure.

›  To
obtain the maximum benefit from the injected
gas, it must be injected as near the producing
interval as possible.

Petroleum Production Engineering-2

Mr. Saddam Al-Sadi
 19

2. Injection-gas pressure
›  The
injection-gas pressure at depth must be
greater than the flowing producing pressure at the
same depth.

›  Any
compromise with this principle will result in less
pressure drawdown and a less efficient operation.

›  Highvolumes of gas injected in the upper part of

the fluid column will not have the same effect as a
much smaller volume of gas injected near the
producing formation depth because the fluid
density is reduced only above the point of gas
injection. Petroleum Production Engineering-2
Mr. Saddam Al-Sadi
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Major factors that have an effect on choosing

the most economical injection-gas pressure
›  A variety of factors can affect the selection of the
most efficient surface injection-gas pressure.
›  These may include:
›  Pressure/volume/temperature (PVT) properties of the
crude
›  Water cut of the producing stream
›  Density of the injected gas
›  Wellhead backpressure
›  Pressure rating of the equipment
›  Design of the well facility

Petroleum Production Engineering-2

Mr. Saddam Al-Sadi
 21

3. Calculating the effect of injection-gas

pressures on surface production facilities
›  The selection and design of compression
equipment and related facilities must be closely
considered in gas lift systems because of the high
initial cost of compressor horsepower and the fact
that this cost usually represents a major portion of
the entire project cost.

›  Inmost instances, the injection-gas pressure

required at the wellhead determines the discharge
pressure of the compressor.
Petroleum Production Engineering-2
Mr. Saddam Al-Sadi
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4. Gas volume
›  The
total injection gas required for a continuous-flow
gas lift well may be determined by well-performance
prediction techniques.

›  Well-performance calculations are typically obtained

by simultaneously solving:
›  the well inflow
›  and well outflow equations.

›  Well
inflow, or fluid flow from the reservoir, can be
simulated by either:
›  the straight line pressure drawdown (PI)
›  or the inflow performance relationship (IPR) methods. 
Petroleum Production Engineering-2
Mr. Saddam Al-Sadi
 23

4. Gas volume
›  Likewise,
well outflow, or fluid flow from the
reservoir to the surface, is typically predicted by
empirical correlations such as those presented by
Poettmann and Carpenter, [Orkiszewski, Duns and
Ros, Hagedorn and Brown, Beggs and Brill, and
others. (Discussed in PPE-1)

›  Once typical gas volume requirements for

individual wells are determined, totals for the entire
field can be calculated.
Petroleum Production Engineering-2
Mr. Saddam Al-Sadi
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Gas lift installation design

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Gas lift installation design

›  Continuous-flowgas lift is analogous to natural
flow, but there are generally two distinct flowing-
pressure traverses.

›  The
traverse below the point of gas injection
includes only formation gas; whereas, the traverse
above the point of gas injection includes both the
formation and injection gases.

›  These two distinct flowing-pressure traverses and

their corresponding gas/liquid ratios (GLR) are
illustrated in Fig.3 next slide . Petroleum Production Engineering-2
Mr. Saddam Al-Sadi
 26

Gas lift installation design

Petroleum Production Engineering-2

Mr. Saddam Al-Sadi
 27

Design methods
›  There are numerous gas lift installation design
methods offered in the literature.
›  Several installation designs require unique valve
construction or gas lift-valve injection-gas
throughput performance.
›  Only two design techniques are illustrated in this
page:
›  A design based on a constant decrease in the
operating injection-gas pressure for each succeeding
lower valve (this design is essentially the same as the API
gas lift design technique in RP 11V6)
›  An alternative design for wells requiring high injection-
gas rates. Petroleum Production Engineering-2
Mr. Saddam Al-Sadi
 28

Gas lift installation design

›  Bothof these techniques use the simple single-
element-type, unbalanced, gas lift valve with a
nitrogen-charged bellows.

›  This
type of valve is the most widely used in the
industry and is available from all major gas lift
equipment manufacturers.

›  Gaslift installation design calculations are divided

into two parts:
›  Determination of the gas lift valve depths
›  Calculation of the test-rack opening pressures of the gas
lift valves Petroleum Production Engineering-2
Mr. Saddam Al-Sadi
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Description of unloading operations

›  The
depths of the unloading gas lift valves are
calculated to unload the kill (load) fluid to the design
depth of the operating valve with the injection-gas
pressure and gas volume available at the wellsite.

›  As
the injection gas is initially injected into the casing
annulus, the injection-gas pressure downstream of the
control device on the injection-gas line increases as the
load-fluid level in the casing annulus is lowered during
U-tubing of the load fluid.

›  The
load fluid is transferred into the tubing through the
open gas lift valves in a well with a packer, or through
the open gas lift valves and lower end of the tubing in
a well without a packer. Petroleum Production Engineering-2
Mr. Saddam Al-Sadi
 30

Description of unloading operations

›  Initial
gas lift operations begin after the first gas lift valve
is uncovered and injection gas enters the tubing at this
top-valve depth.

›  The
pressures in the casing and tubing are essentially
equal at the instant a gas lift valve is uncovered.

›  Immediately after injection gas begins to enter the

tubing through the next lower gas lift valve, the
injection-gas pressure in the casing begins to decrease
because the newly uncovered gas lift valve is set to
remain open at a lower injection-gas pressure than the
unloading valve above. Petroleum Production Engineering-2
Mr. Saddam Al-Sadi
 31

Description of unloading operations

›  Less
and less injection gas enters the tubing through the
upper unloading valve.

›  The
injection-gas rate through the newly uncovered
valve increases until the injection-gas pressure in the
casing decreases to the closing pressure of the upper
unloading valve.

›  The
depth of gas-injection transfer is complete when all
injection gas is entering the tubing through the lower
valve and all upper gas lift valves are closed.

›  The principles of continuous-flow operation are

illustrated by a pressure/depth diagram shown in Fig. 4.
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Principles of continuous-flow operation illustrated by a pressure/depth

diagram. The datum depth (Dd) for the static bottomhole pressure (Pwsd)
is the lower end of the production conduit.

Petroleum Production Engineering-2

Mr. Saddam Al-Sadi
 33

Description of unloading operations

›  As
injection gas enters the tubing through a newly
uncovered valve, the flowing-production pressure
decreases.

›  The
injection-gas pressure in the casing begins to
increase from a decreasing opening force from a
lower flowing-production pressure at the valve
depth and the need for stroking the valve stem to
increase the injection-gas rate into the tubing for
uncovering the next lower valve. 
Petroleum Production Engineering-2
Mr. Saddam Al-Sadi
 34

Description of unloading operations

›  Theincrease in the injection-gas pressure above
the initial valve opening pressure at valve depth
for passing the injection-gas rate to establish the
flowing-production transfer pressure must be
determined.

›  This
maximum injection-gas pressure required to
stroke the valve stem sufficiently to pass the
injection-gas rate necessary to transfer the depth
of gas injection to the next lower valve depends
on the gas lift valve performance.
Petroleum Production Engineering-2
Mr. Saddam Al-Sadi